Tina Coy, ACCA, Affiliated CIPD, Managing Director
Pre-screen QuestionaireTips
Spend 10 minutes in a conversation with them to qualify that they meet your standards. You are
aiming to establish the following answers:
The 6 essential qualifying questions you need to ask applicants on a pre-screen call
- Motivating factors. – What are the reasons behind them wanting to make a move now?
Everyone is likely to say money, so aim to gain 3 if not 4 and preferably 5 other reasons as to
why they would want to move away from their current company or to join your company.
These could be factors such as work / life balance, not feeling valued, location, working
hours, opportunity to learn a new skill, career progression, redundancy, company profile,
working environment etc. - How motivated are they? – They may be the best applicant in the world with a great personality and all the skills that you want, but if they’re not motivated to make the move, then they shouldn’t go through to the next stage. Ask them to rate their motivation on a score of 1 – 10. If they’re under 5, don’t even consider them. 6 or 7 are hesitant. Give them time to think and get them to call you back in a day or so. If they’re not motivated, they won’t call back. 8 and 9’s – what stopped them saying 10? There’s obviously something there and you need to know what it is. If they’re a 10, then ask them what they’ve done so far to secure themselves a new position. If they can’t come up with much, then they’re probably not a 10.
- Bottom line salary. They may be a good applicant, but if they’re salary is way out of your range, then they’re not right for this position. Consider them for other opportunities instead.
- Current Situation.What positions have they currently applied for, interviewed for, awaiting an offer on etc. You need to know what you’re up against. It’s no good going through the whole process only to lose out to a position that they already had lined up. Ask the question and then at least you can make an informed decision.
- Knock out factors.What could possibly stop them taking their ideal position? This could be as varied as a ‘counter offer’, partner’s influence on the decision, children’s influence on the position, health issues.
- Achievements and accomplishments. What makes this person stand out against others? What can they tell you that would sell themselves?
If you cover these 6 questions in your screening call, then you will now be able to decide whether you wish to invite this person to an interview.

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